Getty Domantas Sabonis and the Indiana Pacers take on the Charlotte Hornets in the season opener.
The Indiana Pacers kick off their 2021-22 campaign on the road against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center on Wednesday, October 20.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on Bally Sports Indiana for those who live in the Pacers market and Bally Sports Southeast for those who live in the Hornets market. It will also stream live on NBA League Pass for everyone out of market.
Here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Pacers vs Hornets, with your options depending on where you live:
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If the Game is in Your Market
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that has Bally Sports Indiana or Bally Sports Southeast
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Bally Sports Indiana and Bally Sports Southeast (both live in local markets) are included in “Choice” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Pacers vs Hornets live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
If the Game is out of Your Market
Amazon Prime’s NBA League Pass Channel
Note: This is ultimately the same as regular NBA League Pass (more info on that below), but with this option you’ll be able to watch games on the Amazon app, which tends to be available on more devices than the NBA app
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market NBA game via Prime Channels. You can try both Amazon Prime and the NBA League Pass channel at no cost with a free trial:
NBA League Pass on Amazon Prime
Once you’re signed up for the Prime NBA League Pass channel, out-of-market viewers can watch the Pacers vs Hornets live or on-demand on the Amazon Video app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
NBA League Pass
Again, this is mostly the same as the Amazon Prime option above, with the big difference being you’ll watch on NBA’s platforms rather than Amazon’s:
Once signed up for NBA League Pass, out-of-market viewers can watch the Pacers vs Hornets live or on-demand on the NBA app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or 5, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, Android tablet or other compatible device.
You can also watch on your computer via the NBA website.
Pacers vs Hornets Preview
The Pacers have a rough schedule early on this season, playing 11 of their first 17 games on the road, starting with this one.
“We’re going to be OK,” Pacers new head coach Rick Carlisle said about his team’s difficult stretch early on, via The Indy Star. “The start of the season is very difficult. We’re dealt a hand we’re dealt. When you coach in this league, you’ve got to have a strategy for adversity, and our strategy is, we’re going to focus on what we have and not what we don’t have.”
The Pacers finished 34-38 last year, averaging 115.3 points a game (6th in the NBA) while allowing 115.3 points a game on defense (25th in the NBA). They’ll be going up against a Hornets squad that finished with a 33-39 record last season, averaging 109.5 points (23rd in NBA) and allowing 111.4 points a game on defense (13th in NBA).
As for the Hornets, they’re focused on shoring up their defense this season.
“You can’t just have a good possession defensively and then the next you relax,” Charlotte head coach James Borrego told The State. “To win in this league, you have to be consistent.”
That won’t be easy until the Hornets have everyone healthy. The team has multiple players missing time, including Gordon Hayward (NBA Health & Safety), Terry Rozier (ankle) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (ankle), Miles Bridges (knee discomfort) and P.J. Washington (dislocated finger) this preseason, and they suffered the most lopsided loss in an NBA game in 15 years when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 127-59, in their final preseason game.
“We’ll see how we respond from this,” Borrego said after the loss. “These aren’t the efforts we want. That’s not what we’re looking for. Our effort has to be better and it starts with me.”
The Hornets and Pacers last met in the play-in tournament in May, and the Pacers won handily, 144-117 on the strength of a 14 point, 21 rebound performance by Domantas Sabonis. With all the injuries plaguing Charlotte, the Pacers are the favorites to win again here, too.
Here’s a look at the predicted starting lineups for both teams:
Hornets Predicted Starting Lineup: LaMelo Ball (G), Gordon Hayward (G), Miles Bridges (F) PJ Washington (F) Mason Plumlee (C)
Pacers Predicted Starting Lineup: Malcolm Brogdon (G) Chris Duarte (G), Torrey Craig (F), Domantas Sabonis (F) Myles Turner (C)